Hearts of Steel and Stone

the windshiel

hrough the narrow streets of the industrial district. The storm had come

tened to his driver when the man offered to work

he could help it. Independence had buil

e a sound like

ttered, pulling

nd the roof. Through the passenger window, he could see a small shop with warm light sp

n a broken car until help

s jacket and step

eet, his Italian leather shoes slipping on the wet pavement. By the time he reache

led as he p

A single sewing machine sat on a wooden table, surrounded by spools of thread in every colo

" a voice said

n her hands. She was small, maybe five feet tall, with long black hair pulled back in a simple

t him and sto

ipping from his clothes. "My car broke d

issed nothing. She saw the expensive watch on his wrist. The cut of his suit de

ked," she s

be f

e curtain again and retur

rprised by the kin

ing toward a small table with a

on't h

king some

The coffee was strong and bitter, nothing like the expensi

said, settling into a

rcu

rcus Blackwood wasn't the man who owned half the steel mills in the state. He wasn't the billiona

to your jacke

along the sleeve, probably from when he'

n fix

I'll just th

halfway to her lip

s ru

e set down her coffee a

fabric with the kind of care he'd never seen anyone give to clothing. The jacket

amining the stitching. "Hand-tailored.

ust a j

ing wrong. "Nothing is just anything. Eve

through the fabric with tiny, perfect stitches. Marcus found himself watching her face instead of her work.

ave to do th

kno

ld pay

illed. "I don't

ld, everything had a price. Every favor came with strings attac

ot?" h

resumed her sewing. "And because

The wooden table had been sanded smooth by years of use. The fabric was organized by

e you been he

ork. "My mother taught me to sew when I was l

ther was

sadness that made Marcus want to ask more

the lights flickered. Elena

r go out often

. The buil

ld get a

't reach her eyes. "Sure.

ded to know about her finances. This shop wasn't

, holding up the ja

the stitches so small and precise they might have be

what

tact lasted only a second, but Marcus felt something shift in

e said, puttin

re we

new he should leave. Call his assistant. Get his car tow

, he li

ld go,"

oba

of the

to the door. "Be

wil

way, a small figure outlined by warm light. She raised her hand in a

eluctant

truck was already there, its driver hooking up the chains. Ma

see Elena's silhouette moving behind the window. She was probably working late, makin

istant. Then stopped. Instead, he typed a quick note in

was just in case he

owers and power lunches, Marcus couldn't stop thinking about coff

the woman who'd fixed his jacket

t him like he was just a